Week two of the 2024 NFL season is over and the hits just keep coming. Tee Higgins missed his second straight game. Isaiah Pacheco is out for the season. Quentin Johnson is scoring touchdowns. Everything is chaos. Especially your fantasy football roster. Before you give up on your fantasy season, remember that the waiver wire exists to save you from the cruel and unforgiving fantasy football gods. I’m going to provide you with the best options available. If I don’t mention someone whom you think I should be talking about, just know there are many reasons why I overlooked them. Maybe they are owned in most leagues. Maybe they are so bad I don’t even consider them. Maybe it’s because your opinions cannot be trusted. After all, you are here. So let us examine our best week three waiver wire players for your championship run…
Week Three Waiver Wire Qu
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccanneers (49% rostered)
Through two weeks in the NFL season, Baker is QB1 and his team is 2-0. The offensive coordinator who supposedly carried Baker to greatness is winless in Carolina. Every year, there is a quarterback who sits on the waiver for a month and who ends up finishing the year as a QB1. I don’t think Baker is that quarterback this year because he will not be on the waiver wire next week with a roster rate of 49%. If you are stuck at quarterback, Baker has to be the guy to grab.
Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints (12% rostered)
Derek Carr might be the guy who sits on the waiver wire for a month and finishes the year as a QB1. The New Orleans Saints offense has only punted 3 times in 2 games. Sure, the first game was against the Panthers, but in week two Derek Carr dismantled the Cowboys. In their house. Last week, the Cowboys absolutely obliterated the Browns. I am not sure if Derek Carr is him, but in week two he had 243 passing yards and 3 touchdowns against what is widely regarded to be a top-five defense. And in the last two weeks, the Saints have scored 90 points. Sometimes guys get hot and I am all about riding the hot hand in fantasy football. Give me Derek Carr.
Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (8% rostered)
If you don’t believe Derek Carr is going to be that guy this year, but still need quarterback help, you might be in the market for a Sam Darnold. Kevin O’Connell made Joshua Dobbs a quarterback hero for a month and Sam Darnold is a much better player than Dobbs is. In week two, Sam Darnold had 268 passing yards and 2 touchdowns and finished the week as the QB3. Darnold arguably has a stronger supporting cast, but we’ve also seen him start hot and fall off. If you need quarterback help, Darnold is an option worth looking into.
Week Three Waiver Wire Running Backs
Jordan Mason, San Francisco 49ers (53% rostered)
Christian McCaffrey is on I.R. and Mason is currently the RB5 on the season. Nuff said.
Samaje Perine/Carson Steele, Kansas City Chiefs (4%/3% rostered)
This is the big question for week two. Will Samaje Perine or Carson Steele be the replacement for Isaiah Pacheco? If you think the Chiefs continue to run the ball at a league-average rate, Steele is probably the guy. If you think the Chiefs start throwing the football more, Perine is your guy. In the end, I think whichever back you pick up, you will ultimately feel like you lost. If you need one of these backs, I’ve outlined your process for the tiebreaker. I will say that Carson Steele has the advantage of not having shown he is bad at football yet, unlike Sajame Perine.
Braelon Allen, New York Jets (9% rostered)
Braelon Allen is a nice pick-up based on his current usage. He is getting a 2 to 1 snap share with Breece Hall. He should be able to provide bench depth with some flex ability based on match-ups. And if something happens to Breece, you have a guy who could be an RB1 option. If you have some trash on the back of your bench, I like holding onto Allen as a speculation move. But only if I have a weak bench.
Week Three Waiver Wire Wide Receivers
Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints (54% rostered)
What is there to say about Rashid Shaheed except that he is the number two receiver on the top-scoring offense in football as of week two. In week two, Shaheed had 4 catches for 96 yards and 1 touchdown. On the season he has run 31 routes compared to Chris Olave’s 32, but he has a higher target per route run. I just finished watching the Saints-Cowboys game and I want shares of this offense. It looks like it is going to be a fun offense all year. If Shaheed isn’t your number one waiver priority at wide receiver, you are missing the big FAAB dump of the season.
Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts (14% rostered)
In week two, Alec Pierce had 5 catches for 56 yards and 1 touchdown. On the season, Pierce has 50 routes run, second on the team to Pittman’s 52. Pierce led the Colts in targets along with Pittman in week two. More importantly, with their defense being as bad as it looks, they will be playing from behind a lot. Give me the big play receiver on a team trying to make up yards in chunks.
Andrei Iosivas, Cincinnati Bengals (5% rostered)
Since Higgins has been out, Iosivas has been the clear number two in this offense. In week two, Iosivas had 2 catches for 7 yards and 2 touchdowns. Yes, he got all his points on touchdowns in week two, but he also ran the second-most routes on the team and had the third-most targets. If Higgins is ruled out, Iosivas is a solid alternative.
Quentin Johnson, Los Angeles Chargers (6% rostered)
No. Just no. Quentin Johnson has a decent game against the worst team in football and I am suddenly supposed to believe that he is good at football. Keep your 2 touchdown game and keep Quentin Johnson.
Week Three Waiver Wire Tight Ends
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots (18% rostered)
Remember last year when Hunter Henry had his incredible two-week stint and I was telling everyone he just had two really good match-ups to start the year and then he turned into poop? I am here to remind you that time is a flat circle and the Seattle Seahawks have given up the 5th most yards to opposing tight ends this year. Last year, they gave up the 7th most. What I’m trying to say is you only want Hunter Henry when he is playing a bad defense against tight ends. I don’t think this qualifies since they are playing the Jets in week three.
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals (3% rostered)
In week two, Mike Gesicki had 9 catches for 91 yards and finished the week as TE5. He also had 3 fantasy points in week one. Don’t burn a waiver on a tight end. Just grab him if he clears and a stream for match-up if he doesn’t.
